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Friday, November 21, 2014

Press Release: KGWA Protests Gov't Harassment of Ghost Workers

Nairobi 20th
November, 2014. The Secretary General of the Kenya Ghost Worker Alliance, Mr
Casper Mwakazi, has protested the continuing harassment of its members and
called on the Government of Kenya to engage in dialogue to resolve any issues
relating to employment.

Mr Mwakazi condemned the announcement by the Cabinet
Secretary for Devolution and Planning, Ms Anne Waiguru, that the government would
fire over 12,000 ghost workers, terming the move “unilateral and illegal”.

“We urge the government to rescind this illegal directive
which will have an adverse impact, not only on our members and their families,
but also on other state employees,” he said. “The demonizing of ghost workers
must cease and we must exorcise the contempt that the government has shown
towards these hard-working and transparent civil servants,” said he added.

Mr Mwakazi said he was haunted by the tales of the suffering
that the government announcement had caused in the wider community, noting that
most KGWA members used their meagre salaries to augment the pay of other government
employees, including senior officials.

“We are ready to join our brothers in the Kenya County
Government Workers Union in undertaking legal action to prevent this
injustice,” he said, claiming that although the Alliance had reached out to the
government, promised consultations had failed to materialize. The KCGWU has threatened to go to court over the registration of workers, which led to the dismissals.

He said the ghost workers would also be seeking spiritual
assistance and support from the rest of Kenyan society and especially the
religious fraternity whose activities have been similarly threatened by the
authorities.

“As a society, we must not lose faith in our workers even
when we do not see them,” said Mr Mwakazi.

“Like we do at the KGWA, the government should work by faith, not by sight,” he concluded.